Common flu is resistant to two medications, experts say

This most common type of flu has become nearly 100% resistant to two commonly used antiviral medications, according to disease control experts.

In previous years, amantadine and rimantadine failed against H3N2 (influenza A) between 2% and 15% of the time in North America. This season the number of resistant cases has climbed to more than 92%, according to a recent article in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Experts contend that this year's flu strains are still responsive to two other antivirals, Relenza (zanamivir) and Tamiflu (oseltamivir). Also, flu vaccines continue to be effective, officials say.

Fecal transplants should be considered for patients with recurrent cases of Clostridium difficile whose symptoms cannot be addressed by antibiotics, the Infectious Diseases Society of America said in new guidelines published Thursday.

Lawmakers took a long-standing industry complaint to the Department of Health and Human Services this week, telling Secretary Alex Azar that Medicare and Medicaid favor opioid prescription over non-addictive alternatives for treating chronic pain.